Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn Review

Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn Review

Cheers for redo’s. The first Final Fantasy XIV was not a good game. So Square Enix decided to give it a makeover as Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn. That is a good thing because this game has become a really good MMO for the PS4. It runs surprisingly smooth on the console and the UI is solid.

The bad part is it is a monthly subscription based game.
$12.99 for 1 character per server
$14.99 for 8 characters per server
$9.99 for 8 characters per server if you purchase the Legacy upgrade for $20.

Now subscription games don’t sit well with console gamers but those loyal to the FF franchise have allowed Square Enix to get away with this model. I don’t believe that many games could pull this off other than WOW itself. If you love MMO’s and love FF the subscription may be worth it.

The game itself is beautiful but the graphics are not the best. This was most likely on purpose as to make the game be able to run more smoothly without intense graphics sucking up precious processor speeds. That being said the graphics or lack of, is forgivable as I would much prefer the game to work, so Square Enix gets a pass on this one.

The story is rich in content and even has some speech. Most of the story is well written and that makes it easier to read through instead of just clicking the words away. The story will engulf you and takes a turn around the mid 30’s. You will then be engaged all the way up to level 50, when you can hit the raid scene if you so choose.

Getting parties can be difficult and sometimes involves long wait times of over an hour but does have an anonymous match up. This is good for getting a party going but the anonymity cause some bad user social interactions. Since you may never see this person again they may, well, just act like a jerk. This however is not the games fault and can be somewhat expected when playing an MMO. League of Legends comes to mind.

Combat is as expected for the MMO genre, tab targeting and hot keys. Hey, if it’s not broke… Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn does add some glitz by using animations to cover the familiar combat system. It almost works.

Leveling is somewhat different in Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn. It is dependent on what you have equipped. To level up a crafting skill, you only need to equip the appropriate crafting toll then craft away! Although end game items are more powerful and do render a crafter less effective, but it is still useful for enchantments and potions. The same goes for weapons, equip it and that is what you will level. This is a good change and hopefully others will take note.

Dungeons are simple at first but become trickier when you start getting into the mid levels. You will need to use debuffs and pay attention to what is going on around you. A good party will make a huge difference at this stage of the game.

You can call in your chocobo now to ride as a mount or use as a fighting pet for your solo needs now. Depending on how you choose to level your chocobo, it can be used as a tank, healer, DPS, and can always be used as a mount. You will need to summon the chocobo as a mount or pet to use it in the desired way.

This is a fun game and a must for any Final Fantasy fan that wants to experience the continent of Eorzea in a MMO style game. We rank Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn 7.5 out of 10 stars.